Meeting for Worship on the Occasion of Business – January 2026

GRASS VALLEY FRIENDS MEETING

Of the Religious Society of Friends of the Truth

College Park Quarterly Meeting, Pacific Yearly Meeting

MINUTES & RECORD

Meeting for Worship on the Occasion of Business

January 18, 2026

We met in a hybrid meeting in person at the meetinghouse and on Zoom.

Present:  Dorothy Henderson, clerk; Gordon Starr, elder to the clerk, Mary Starr, Reed Hamilton, Judy Hamilton, Kathy McCreary, fosten wilson, Doug Hamm, Amy Cooke, Chamba Cooke, Dean Olsen, Lucia, Peter O’Rourke, Nora Lisette, Don McCormick, Megan Black.

The Meeting opened with silent worship.

Clerks’ Remarks and Query

A new year, a new spiritual home. Ephesians 4, “Put on the new man.” What is one thing you would like to receive this year, not do, not reform, but receive? 

Friends shared out of worship:

Obedience bringing freedom.

Surrendering to new year of the Fire Horse.

Health restored.

Insight bringing compassion.

Better sleep.

More rest and play.

Minutes from December 14, 2025 read and approved.

Minute 01.2026.01: Minutes of December 14, 2025 Meeting for Worship on the Occasion of Business read and approved.

COMMITTEE REPORTS 

(see reports appended, committee clerk is noted in bold)

Stewardship: Mary Starr (Clerk), Gordon Starr, Pat Phillips, Reed Hamilton, David Bowman. Dianne Marshall (ex-officio, Newsletter editor), Don McCormick (ex-officio, Librarian), Hailey Wilson (ex-officio Tech Support).

Mary Starr gave the report, appended.

Concerns expressed about poster in our Meeting for Worship classroom. Does not align with our Quaker values. Gordon Starr will remove and replace each Sunday.

Need for further conversation with Pastor Christian about other possible concerns will be referred to Upcoming Clerks Committee.

Welcome: Peter O’Rourke (ex-officio, Website and Facebook coordinator), Judy Hamilton (ex-officio email coordinator), Nancy Anderson (ex-officio directory clerk). Peter O’Rourke gave the report, appended

Spirit and Witness: Amy Cooke, 2024-2027, Stuart Smith, 2025-2026, Reed Hamilton, 2025-2028, Dean Olson, 2024-2027, Doug Hamm, 2025-2026, Dorothy Henderson, 2026 (ex-officio, GVFM Clerk), Gordon Starr (ex-officio, elder to the clerk). Amy Cooke gave the report, appended.

Concern expressed that many Quakers may assume that the Nisenan asked GVFM to leave Yulića.  Amy Cooke will write an essay for Western Friend describing actual process of GVFM leaving Yulića and the move to PLC. Dorothy and Gordon Starr will review before sent for publication.

Clerks’ Meeting will take place in early February. Clerk of Spirit and Witness, Amy Cooke, clerks this meeting. She will send out dates to clerks.

State of the Meeting Session will take the place of regular program for 4^th Sunday, February, 22^nd. 

Religious Education Committee

No report was given.

Nominating Committee

No report was given

OFFICER REPORTS and REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS

Treasurer: Quarterly Finance report, Mary Starr, Treasurer gave the report, appended

Co-Archivists/Recorders: No report given

Pacific Yearly Meeting: No report given.

College Park Quarterly Meeting: Spring Quarterly Meeting will be April 24-26.

Interfaith Nevada County: No report given.

Sharings from the wider Quaker world: 

QEW received $92,000 grant to offer nonviolence training in Friends’ Meetings across the country. 

Right Sharing of World’s Resources offering series on Money. Judy Hamilton has information.

Quaker Call to Action:
From Exhaustion to Enthusiasm, Joyful Resistance in a Time of Tyranny
January 25, 2026, from 4 to 5:30, PST. Dorothy has information

CLERK’S REMARKS:

Clerking is Fun. 

ITEMS SEASONING or CARRIED OVER

No items seasoned or carried over.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: no new announcements. 

READING OF THE RECORD AND MINUTES    

The record and the minutes will be read at the beginning of February Meeting for Worship on the Occasion of Business

GVFM Newsletter Reminder: Please have items into Dianne Marshall by Tuesday at 10 am. 

The Meeting closed with worship.  Requests for holding Friends in the light were spoken out of worship.

APPENDICES:

1. Stewardship Committee Report
2. Welcome Committee Report
3. Stewardship Committee Report
4. Treasurers Report

Stewardship Committee Report

January 8, 2026

Present: Mary Starr, clerk, treasurer, Gordon Starr, recorder, Reed Hamilton, Pat Phillips, Fosten Wilson, Dianne Marshall, newsletter editor

Treasurer’s Report. Mary reported that total donations for December were $1,540. Expenses totaled $4,280. This included our normal monthly expenses and the PYM annual dues ($3,952). She noted that the quarterly financial report is due and will be presented at this month’s Meeting for Business.

The Move to Peace Lutheran Church. Steps we have taken include signing a rental with Peace Lutheran Church, paying first month’s rent and security deposit. We were given two keys to the building. Mary will hold one and Kathy /Fosten will hold the other. Mary also paid the final half month’s rent to CHIRP, and opened a Post Office box in Grass Valley for Meeting. Meeting’s new address is P.O. Box 1421, Grass Valley, 95945. We were given two keys for the box. Mary will hold one. The holder of the second key needs to be determined. Dean will continue to pick up mail at Yulica.

  Moving day was a great success with many hands contributing, moving out on Friday and mostly moving in on Saturday. All items, (furniture, shelves, fans, etc.) that were left in the Meeting House with uncertain provenance were gladly received by Saxon who said he was sure they could find homes for everything. The piano is scheduled to be moved January 15. 

 PLC Loose Ends.  We will need to write up new procedures for opening, greeting, refreshments and closing duties. 

           We need to take our trash each week.

            The library door needs to stay unlocked, since the thermostat for the whole wing is in there. We will install a cabinet lock for the computer and Owl.

           We need to sort through the many posters and pictures and give many of them away. We just don’t have much wall space.

           Determine what directional signs will be used and where to place them. Temporary signs for now

            Library still needs arranging and ordering.

            We discussed replacing the Snow Ball mic with an omnidirectional mic to better pick up everyone in the circle. Gordon will research and purchase, using funds from the Moving Fund.

            Please note the address of Peace Lutheran is 828 W. Main St.

Our next meeting will be February 5, 2026 at 3:00 PM 

 Welcome Committee Report

January 12, 2026 / 7:00PM / Zoom

1. Potluck update
   1. Holiday activity including move to Peace Lutheran filled everyone’s activities

2. Union Newspaper
   1. Created and discussed information addressing our new location
   2. Will be submitted in coming days

3. Greeter and refreshment instruction
   1. Reviewed/discussed instructions
   2. Updates to come in the coming week

4. Website
   1. Discussed now to remove old website  gvfriends.org
      1. Will reach out to Ethan our prior consultant or Sierra Host company to get quote on how to remove 
   2. Discussed current website content
   3. Will update based on feedback from Amy and Welcome Committee

5. Closed with Silent Worship

6. Next meeting February 9, 2026

Spirit and Witness Report

01.2026

We are bringing a minute to the Meeting after hearing a leading from Dorothy Henderson. We honor the process of hearing a leading, allowing it to be released into discernment, and then testing it together. This process has resulted in our approval of the following, which we bring as an announcement. 

S&W Minute 01.2026: Spirit and Witness announces that there will be a weekly in person Meeting for Worship on Wednesday mornings, starting February 18. The meeting will be from 7:30 am – 9 am with 45 min of worship and 45 min of worship sharing. All are welcome. We will not be sharing food or drink, but please bring your own drink as you wish. The Meeting will be held at the home of Doug Hamm and Dorothy Henderson, and they will provide a key for those weeks when they are traveling. 

Dorothy also reported on her experience in December with taking the minutes as the Clerk, a practice found in other Friends meetings. She found this to be valuable and would like to continue with this practice in January, February, and March. There is no proposal to make this permanent at this time, although the Meeting may be asked to consider this in the future. 

Dorothy also let us know that she intends to notify the  Nominating Committee that she is willing to be considered for another one-year term as clerk, until June 2027. Should the Meeting agree, she would like a co-clerk to serve alongside her, with that person being considered for the Clerk position in 2027-28. 

We spent some time checking in about our move to Peace Lutheran Church. We acknowledged the sense of beginning anew, a rebirth of the Meeting, and the poignant and opportunities that have resulted by leaving some history behind. We marveled that the decision happened so easily and the way opened so smoothly. We wondered if there are those who are experiencing a fresh welcome to the Meeting, maybe something that is allowing former members and attenders to come back. We sensed that the work we did as a Meeting with the homeland return of the Nisenan helped us come together as a Meeting. We hold a deep sense that the land is theirs. We hold that in love, and are deeply grateful that the transition happened in love. We want everyone to know that the Nisenan never asked us to leave. That takes a huge heart. We also feel deep gratitude to the ad hoc group for the planning that gave ease to the packing and setting up. The Meeting feels strong, alive and vital. 

We wondered if Dorothy, as our clerk,  will now be the primary point of contact for the Meeting with Peace Lutheran. Dorothy will talk to Mary Starr about this. 

Spirit and Witness  programs: 

• January 25: Worship sharing: How are you finding Meeting in this new environment?  How do we keep our spiritual grounding in the midst of this change?
• Third Sundays, starting in January. Six month long Quaker Seminary led by Amy, with one topic explored each month. February topic: Community

Witnessing into the world

• Witness Committees:
  • Toward Right Relations: Quaker Peace Teams has been doing webinars – Sharon and Reed will watch that and something may develop out of that. Understanding native americans relation to all things. Sharing the webinars with the Meeting – Reed will send it out. 

Question about what our ongoing relationship will be with the Nisenan. How are we a part of the Nisenan? Invite Saxon to come to talk about Indigenous Forest Management?

• Nevada County Immigrant Rights Network update: Judy Hamilton

Spring Clerks Meeting: We will be scheduling this soon! 

Respectively submitted, 

Amy

Treasurer’s Report

1-18-2026

Summary = A great start amid so many changes!

This report covers our 1st 2025-2026 fiscal quarter: October 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025. The contributions of $10,272 were welcome and greatly appreciated. Our 1st quarter expenses ($7,714) were within our budget. This included our normal monthly expenses of rent, internet, newsletter cost, etc., and our annual PYM dues of $3,952, our annual liability insurance premium, and a $250 transfer to the restricted Technology Fund.

The “Fund Balances” and the “General Fund: Actual vs. Budget” reports are available on the library (classroom 2) bulletin board – and by contacting me. Changes to the restricted funds include the $250 addition to the Technology Fund and a decrease in the Meeting House Fund of our unbudgeted moving expenses so far ($1,077).

Thank you for all your help. All gifts, both in service to the Meeting and financial are deeply appreciated. Money contributions can be in-person, mailed to my address below, or online by using the “give” button at grassvalleyfriends.org.

Mary Starr, Treasurer

500 Butler Street

Grass Valley, CA 95945

Email = mstarr2133@aol.com

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